The government missed its fiscal target to keep inflation within 7%, as the data released yesterday showed average inflation rate ticked up to an annual 7.35% in the just concluded fiscal year on the back of rising food and noon-food prices.
It was 6.78% in financial year 2012-13 and 8.69% in FY 2011-12 (according to the 2005-06 base year).
But month-on-month, inflation slightly eased to 6.97% in June, the final month of just concluded fiscal year, as compared to the previous month on the back of falling food inflation, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
In May, inflation was 7.48 %, 0.51 percentage point higher from June.
“The national economy is on the right track, which helps keep the inflation within the 7%-7.5% limiat in the just concluded fiscal,” Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal told a press meet, releasing the data at his office in Dhaka.
He, however, claimed the government had set the target to keep inflation within the 7% to 7.5% limit, which became true at the end of the year.
Food inflation has been recorded at 8.56% in the last financial year, a 3.35 percentage points up from that of 5.22% in the previous FY2013.
Non-food inflation has declined to 5.55% from that of 9.17% in the previous FY2013. The rural area was hit hard by the impact of the inflationary pressure during the last FY2014 as the rural inflation stood at 7.07%, a 0.93 percentage point up from 6.14% in the previous fiscal year.
On the other hand, the urban people has got a little bit relief from the inflationary pressure during the period as the overall inflation eased to 7.89% in FY2014 compared to 8.02% in FY2013, BBS data showed.
Month-on-month, the overall food inflation also dropped to 8% in June from 9.09% in previous month while non-food inflation including house rent and transportation slightly rose to 5.45% from 5.16%.
When asked, BBS Director General Golam Mostafa Kamal said: “Since the prices of the rice, vegetables and other food items have declined, the point-to-point inflation has decreased in the last month to June.”
He said the local garments prices, house rent, furniture and house operation, medical and transport costs, and the cost of educational equipments, and different products and services had increased a little, which boosted the non-food inflation in June last fiscal.
Finance Adviser to the last caretaker government AB Mirza Azizul Islam said: “I don’t see any reason for dropping food inflation in June. There is no reason for falling demand and improving the supply side.”
Rice might remain stable last month, but other items have relatively increased during the month of Ramadan.
According to state-owned Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, rice and pulse prices remained unchanged in the last one month. Loose floor price was down over 1.5% per kg and loose soybean 5.6% per litre.
But prices of other items, including potato, onion (imported), garlic (imported), ginger, dried chili and beef increased by 32.35%, 115.52%, 67.74%, 39.39% and 1.82% respectively.
About implementation of the Annual Development Programme (ADP), the Planning Minister said the government ministries and agencies have executed their project satisfactory in the last FY2014.
Except three big ministries – health, education and energy – other ministries had implemented 86% of the Tk60,000 crore revised ADP in the just concluded financial year.
“After getting the implementation data of those missing ministries, the implementation rate is expected to cross the last year’s 96% rate,” he said.
In the last FY2013, the government ministries spent 96% of their total ADP allocation.
